Who will Real Madrid buy in the January transfer window?

By: Juan Iglesias
Special to Soccer City FC

Ruud van Nistelrooy's long-term injury has sent Real Madrid searching for alternatives:

1) Lukas Podolski, the 23 year old was already linked with Madrid for months, but now increasingly so, with his recent statement that he wishes to leave Bayern in January due to lack of playing time. He would probably cost around 12-15m euro.

2) Hernan Crespo, 33, is strongly linked to Real Madrid. His agent Fernando Hidalgo has already met with Madrid officials. The main problem is that Crespo is not interested in a cheap, short-term deal, which is what he is being offered, according to reports.

3) Carlos Tévez, 24, is currently on loan with Manchester United, his rights being held by the MSI agency. Madrid are definitely interested and reports suggest he may be open to a move; which would cost at least 30m euro. In my opinion, this deal is far more likely next summer than in January.

4) Andrei Arshavin, 27, was already on record as wanting to play in Spain. The end of the Russian season now opens the possi bility of a move to Madrid, since Zenit may be more favourable to a deal. The main problem, again, is that Madrid seem more interested in a loan deal first, with a permanent transfer later on.

Next summer, either Karim Benzema (20) or Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (25) will be a target for the club.